Past, Present, Future
MFK Fisher, Mother Of Modern Food Writing
When Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher began writing her first collection of culinary essays, she had just returned from France to the Southern California of h...
This recipe comes from a letter Fisher wrote to her biographer, Joan Reardon, that’s basically a run of apologies—for not getting back to her more quickly, for not being in touch before the holidays, and for not sending the gingersnap recipe, which is the recipe from Irma Rombauer’s The Joy of Cooking, but with triple the ginger. “They are wonderful for parties at the end of any long meal or drinking bout…better than anything else for traveling whether one is queasy or not.” She also specifies that these should be made very small.
Ingredients
SERVINGS: 15 dozen tiny cookies
- ¾ cup butter, softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 eggs, well beaten
- ½ cup molasses
- 2 teaspoons Champagne vinegar (Apple cider vinegar would work well, too.)
- 3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 6 teaspoons ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
Preparation
Preheat oven to 325°.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, molasses and vinegar; beat well. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, soda and spices. Gradually stir into wet ingredients, mixing to blend.
With floured hands, roll into ½ inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes, longer for crisp cookies, less for chewy.
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